Terrorist groups, including Hamas and the Popular Resistance Committees, have reportedly seized large quantities of CIA security files that were stored at major compounds of militias associated with the U.S.-backed Fatah organization. “The CIA files we seized, which include documents, CDs, taped conversations and videos, are more important than all the American weapons we obtained the last two days as we took over the traitor Fatah’s positions,” said Muhammad Abdel-El, spokesman for the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees. The terrorist group has been accused of carrying out anti-U.S. attacks, including a 2003 bombing of an American convoy in Gaza that killed three U.S. contractors. The spokesman said the CIA documents they browsed so far contain “information about the collaboration between Fatah and the Israeli and American security organizations; CIA methods on how to prevent attacks, how to chase and follow after cells of Hamas and the Committees; plans about Fatah assassinations of members of Hamas and other organizations; and American studies on the security situation in Gaza.” He claimed the documents also detailed CIA networks in other Arab countries and “how to help beat Islamic allies of Hamas in other Arab countries, including Egypt and Jordan.” Hamas’s Al Aksa Television this week also broadcast footage of Hamas gunmen brandishing American assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, rocket launchers and ammunition the U.S. reportedly provided to Fatah over the past few months. Hamas fighters also showed what they said were 10 American-provided armored personnel carriers the terror group said it seized from Fatah security compounds it took over Tuesday. More Aid To Abbas Even after the Hamas takeover of U.S.-backed Palestinian security compounds in Gaza and seizure of large quantities of American weapons, the Bush administration is contemplating sending more weapons to the Palestinians and is asking Israel to make security concessions to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli and Palestinian diplomatic sources said. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced the U.S. will resume “full assistance to the Palestinian government,” lifting an economic and political embargo against the Palestinian government enacted after Hamas came to power in March 2006. Rice said she will ask Congress to rework a previous $86 million aid package to Abbas that was lowered following concerns by some lawmakers that some of the money would end up financing terrorism. According to Palestinian and Israeli diplomatic sources, the bulk of the $86 million is slated to be used to fund Force 17, which serves as de facto police units in the West Bank. Many members of Force 17 are also openly members of the Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades, which took responsibility together with Islamic Jihad for every suicide bombing in Israel during the last two years. A Palestinian diplomatic source told WND the PA wants to use some of the money “to purchase equipment to help secure the Palestinian Authority against coups by other competing groups attempting to hijack our government.” Christians in Gaza Must Accept Muslim Law Christians can continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accept Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings, an Islamist militant leader in Gaza told WND in an exclusive interview. The militant leader said Christians in Gaza who engage in “missionary activity” will be “dealt with harshly.” “I expect our Christian neighbors to understand the new Hamas rule means real changes. They must be ready for Islamic rule if they want to live in peace in Gaza,” said Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamic outreach movement that recently announced the opening of a “military wing” to enforce Muslim law in Gaza. Jihadia Salafiya is suspected of attacking a United Nations school in Gaza last month after the school allowed boys and girls to participate in the same sporting event. One person was killed in that attack. “Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. “All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public,” Abu Asqer told WND. “Also the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls and bars must be stopped,” he said. “If it goes on, we’ll attack these things very harshly.” Abu Saqer accused the leadership of the Gaza Christian community of “proselytizing and trying to convert Muslims with funding from American evangelicals.” “This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza,” he said. Abu Saqer claimed there was “no need” for the thousands of Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory. About 2,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of over 1 million.
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